Nothing quite epitomises prime cut hard bop as Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers and this welcome Jazz Dynamics five disc package is proof positive in that it pulls together such genuinely indispensable early 1960s Blue Note albums as The Big Beat, Like Someone In Love, A Night In Tunisia, Pisces, Roots And Herbs, The Witch Doctor, The Freedom Rider plus Jazz Messengers!!! which appeared on Impulse. So what more could anyone wish for? How about Solar's souvenir of the Blakey Boys' truly triumphant first visit to Japan which originally popped up as a double vinyl on the Baybridge label under the title A Day With Art Blakey. Derived from white-hot concert and television performances, it includes many of the compositions upon which their reputation was established: ‘The Summit’, ‘Blues March’, ‘Moanin'’, ‘Dat Dere’, ‘A Night In Tunisia’ and more. On this occasion the audience prove just as excited as the Messengers with Morgan and Shorter confirming their top gun status. Finally, the bulk of a one shot deal with United Artists was taped at Hollywood's Renaissance Club and presents a refurbished personnel: Hubbard replacing Morgan, Walton taking over Timmons role and Curtis Fuller's trombone fleshing out the front line. The set list includes Shorter's ‘Children Of The Night’ and ‘Ping Pong’, contributions from Hubbard, Fuller and Walton plus a handful of standards. Fact: currently there isn't a group of Hard Boppers on the planet capable of matching these Jazz Messengers, never mind surpassing them.